Überleben
by xChristabelx
Summary: After the tower falls Schuldig and Nagi seem to be the only remaining members of Schwarz. Now they must struggle to survive without a home and in fear of SZ tracking them down to execute revenge. Warnings: Sex, violence, possible drug use SchuxYohji, Nagi
1. Chapter 1

_Relentless_

//"Where is he?"//

//"Won't stop 'til she notices me"//

//"They will respect me."//

_Remorseless_

//"You're worthless."//

//"I hate him."//

//"Die, bitch!"//

_Senseless_

//"Can't find my brush."//

//"G_onna be late ag_ain."//

//Gah, K and Hiro would make such a cute pair."//

_Madness_

_Chaos._ It felt as if he were drowning, millions of words, crowding thoughts, nearing insanity. They were dragging him under and he couldn't breathe, couldn't find the strength to fight them, to struggle to the surface. Then suddenly he was rising, crushing darkness giving way to lighter colours and bright light, burning spot of white rushing nearer.

"Shu, wake up," a voice in the distance. "Please, Shu, wake up!"

Schuldig awoke with a gasp, quickly cut off by a series of painful hacking coughs. Everything hurt. Breathing hurt and everything was wet. There was something dripping, the drops landing on his face.

Schuldig opened his eyes with difficulty. They burned, even the barely perceptible light of the moon hurt and nothing would come into focus at first, the voice felt disjointed until his eyes locked onto wide, tear-filled blue orbs.

"Nagi," Schuldig rasped, his voice barely a whisper above the crash of nearby waves.

"Schu!" Nagi cried and launched himself at the German, gripping clothes as soaking wet as his own, his tears falling faster.

Schuldig struggled to sit up with the boy clinging to him and it was painful and exhausting, but he managed, taking in his surroundings while his arms wrapped around Nagi's shaking form. They were on a beach and it took Schuldig a moment to remember what had happened, but the memory of the tower beginning to crumble and crash into the ocean soon returned and he followed it until he was met with blank in his mind. That must have been when he was rendered unconscious.

"Where are the others," Schuldig asked, moving slightly so he could tilt Nagi's chin up to look at him. Nagi sniffed, obviously trying hard to keep the tears at bay.

"Don't know," the boy whispered, his lips trembling. "Please, Shu, you have to find them." Nagi's voice was urgent and frightened and he looked every bit as young as he really was. Schuldig nodded, closing his eyes while trying to pick up on any remainder of the telepathic connections he'd had with Brad and Farfarello. Nothing came to him as he tried. The German tried harder, slowly following lines that should lead him to calm logic or raging chaos. They ended in static and Schuldig's head threatened to split with pain as he lingered in this void.

A pained gasp escaped the telepath. Nagi's fearful eyes once again locked with his.

"Can't find them," Schuldig admitted, sounding slightly apologetic and trying his best to suppress any panic that might show through his voice. It was highly worrying that he couldn't pick up on either Crawford's or Farfarello's minds, but Nagi didn't have to know just how worrying it was… yet. But the boy was neither stupid nor naïve.

"What does that mean," Nagi asked, frowning deeply. Schuldig sighed and winced. He was convinced that he had at least a few broken ribs.

"I don't really know," the German replied and he knew it was a lie. He had a pretty damn good idea of what it meant, but he was not prepared to accept the truth. Not yet. Other things had to be thought of first.

Schuldig's gaze swept the surrounding area for a moment. Both to make sure that there really was no one else around and in hopes of maybe seeing the remaining members of Schwarz somewhere. No such luck. He sighed silently. They would have to move, Schuldig knew, reminding himself that they had just betrayed SZ. If any members of the organisation had survived the collapse of the tower they would be out of blood. And neither Nagi nor Schuldig were in any condition to fight them.

"We have to go," Schuldig told Nagi, his voice a lot calmer than he felt.

"But…" Nagi tried to say something, to object, but really, the boy wasn't sure what he wanted to say. He nodded then, standing up and immediately falling to the damp sand again with a small cry of pain. A look of worry immediately crossed Schuldig's face. "What is it," he asked. Nagi rolled up his right trouser leg to reveal a long bleeding gash.

"Verdammt," Schuldig swore. "Can you walk?"

Nagi shook his head, tears once again gathering in his deep blue eyes. Schuldig got up from the ground with difficulty, not sure of his own injuries. Several parts of his body screamed at him not to move, but he ignored the pain. Kneeling down before Nagi, Schuldig motioned for the boy to climb onto his back. Nagi complied, but immediately let go again, staring at his right hand.

"There's blood, Shu," Nagi exclaimed. Schuldig knew. He'd felt the pain the moment Nagi had touched his shoulder.

"I know. Ignore it," Schuldig commanded. Nagi looked unsure, but he had no choice but to climb onto the German's back once again, this time being mindful of the other's injury.

There were very few places the two Schwarz members could go that were not too far away, but Schuldig knew of one that would accommodate them at least for the rest of the night and the next day, maybe eve longer if they were lucky.

There was an old warehouse that was due to be demolished soon and as far as Schuldig knew it had belonged to a factory that produced all kinds of household fabrics. Maybe they had left something behind. Both Schuldig's and Nagi's clothes were dry by the time they arrived at the old run-down building and slipped inside gratefully, but they were both still in danger of catching a cold and at this point it could be fatal to fall ill.

Schuldig collapsed against the wall inside the building as soon as he had let Nagi down from his back. The strain of carrying the teenager in combination with his injuries had left the telepath drained and exhausted. Pain washed over his body and a dull headache had firmly settled behind Schuldig's eyes, making it hard to see.

Nagi slowly crawled towards Schuldig.

"Are you ok, Shu," he asked, his voice hesitant. Schuldig cracked the most cocky grin he could muster given his current condition. "Sure, chibi," he teased Nagi, causing a tiny smile to appear on the young telekinetic's lips. Schuldig was the only person who was allowed to call him chibi.

Schuldig looked around the deserted warehouse. There were a few scraps of fabric left here and there. Schuldig struggled to get up once more which was becoming more difficult with every movement. He went and got two pieces of something that could have made it as a marquee had they been used. One piece of fabric was large, but dirty and the other was the cleanest bit he could find.

The telepath motioned for Nagi to push up his trouser leg and he tore off a strip of the relativel clean red and white striped fabric to use as a makeshift bandage. Nagi flinched slightly, but otherwise remained quiet while Schuldig tended to his injury.

"There, all done," Schuldig announced, once he'd tied a knot to make sure the bandage stayed in place. He grabbed the larger piece of fabric next. "No, how about we get some sleep," he asked, fully ready to collapse 'til the next morning.

"No." Nagi immediately protested. "You're hurt, Shu. Let me see."

Schuldig sighed. He just wanted to sleep, but he knew that Nagi wouldn't let him be until he'd made sure that the telepath wouldn't die on him during the night.

Reluctantly Schuldig removed his coat and his t-shirt, desperately trying to keep all sounds of pain to a minimum, but that was an unnecessary attempt in any case, as his injuries already looked painful enough. Nagi gasped. A deep bleeding gash ran from the telepath's shoulder to his chest and his torso was riddled with bruises. Nagi was sure that several of Schuldig's ribs would be broken. He carefully let his hands trail over the German's chest, sides and back. Schuldig winced at every touch, making it hard for him to breathe. Nagi had been right, many of his friend's ribs felt out of place.

"Oh, Shu," he sighed, pained. "Why did you carry me? It must have hurt so much."

"Because we had to get out of there, chibi," Schuldig explained with a tired smile. His headache was getting worse and they both needed to sleep desperately. Nagi heaved a sigh and began dressing Schuldig's wound as best as he could, hoping that they could stay in the warehouse for some time. Schuldig would need a lot of rest for his ribs to heal.

Once most of the smaller piece of fabric had been used to patch up Schuldig the two were finally ready to sleep. The warehouse was large and draughty so they were glad to have something they could cover themselves with.

Schuldig lay down with an exhausted groan and Nagi curled up close to him, carefully not to disturb any of the other's wounds. The larger piece of marquee was quickly used as a cover. They lay in silence for some time, but both knew that the other was not sleeping yet.

"They're probably dead, aren't they," Nagi spoke, a disembodied voice in the darkness. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Schuldig stiffened for a moment and then sighed wearily. He would not let the sadness come. Not yet.

"Yes," he replied softly. Nagi shifted and turned to face Schuldig, curling up even closer if possible and burying his face in Schuldig's side, sniffling quietly. And Schuldig wrapped his arms around Nagi's softly shaking form, no matter how much it hurt him to move.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **No, you're not going insane. This is actually an update. Sorry about the long wait. Second chapters are always my bane. Anyway, you actually owe this update to my Contemporary Societies exam which I have to take tomorrow. Just thought since I can't actually sleep yet I'd take my mind off it by writing. So here goes chapter two of Überleben. After the responses to your wonderful reviews.

**Review responses:**

**Glinwulf: **I hope you will find this a worthy second chapter, then. Thanks for your review.

**eMu3: **Thank you for your detailed review. And you made some wonderfully valid points there. I will go and revise chapters once in a while as I go along to incorporate corrections and other little snippets of things I've overlooked. I'm just more happy to get chapters out first. But once I actually have more time I will go back. I really don't see Schwarz as hating each other. We only know a bit about Farfarello's and Nagi's past, but really I don't think any of them have anyone else so they're probably more like a family. And from what I've seen in the anime (I haven't read the mangas yet) Schu and Nagi seem to get along great.

**Bombayxprodigy: ** You're back on safe ground again. Here is more. I think people might think that I will go easy on the boys. Sooo wrong. Muahaha. Thanks for your review.

**Princess Sin: **Well, here's the beginning of what they will do. For now. Omg. Schu getting a proper normal job would be a riot. But too easy for my twisted plot ideas. But I won't reveal anything more yet. You will just have to continue reading.

**Randa: **Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy my writing. Here is more of the fic.

­

Noise.

There was just so much noise, too much. Inside, outside, everywhere. Distant voices sounding nearer than they were, some loud, some more quiet. A scream in the distance. Piercing, strangled, dying.

Schuldig awoke with a start and immediately gasped in pain as his broken ribs were jarred. "Verdammt," he swore, making sure to lie very still as he regained his breath which had been stolen by the pain. Next to redhead Nagi stirred and slowly opened his eyes, awoken by the noise his companion's outcry. Once Nagi realised what had happened, he was wide awake.

"Don't move," the teen commanded, carefully holding Schuldig down to get his point across. "Not planning to," Schuldig ground out, squeezing his eyes shut as he was still in pain, but realising that it was slowly lessening. Opening his eyes again slowly, the telepath locked eyes with his panick-stricken friend. He didn't even have to read Nagi's thoughts to know what was going through the boy's head.

"Morning, chibi," Schuldig managed, forcing a lazy smile onto his lips. Nagi sighed, half with relief, half with resignation. "Morning," the boy mumbled. They were both quiet for a few moments, Schuldig making damn sure he wasn't moving and Nagi sitting up next to the redhead, pondering on their situation. Shifting his eyes to quickly glance at Nagi, Schuldig tried to focus on the boy's thoughts. He knew Nagi was worried, very worried, but not even Schuldig knew exactly what they should do now.

Concentrating, Schuldig felt himself slip into Nagi's mind, scraping the surface, but going deeper more thoughts appeared, thoughts that weren't Nagi's. It took the telepath a moment to register what was happening as more and more thoughts from different people all around the area or even further away continued to crowd his mind, causing his head to feel as if it would split. A pained gasp once again escaped the redhead's lips. Nagi's head immediately whipped around, midnight eyes widening. "What is it," the boy asked, immediately nearly on his feet to do anything necessary to help his friend.

Schuldig just slowly shook his head and forced a neutral expression. "Nothing, kid, just the ribs." Schuldig hoped that this explanation would be enough. Nagi really didn't need to know the real reason for Schuldig's discomfort. Not until the telepath had sorted out for himself what had just happened. Which was nothing, really, Schuldig tried to appease the panic rising within him. His telepathy was fine, he was just tired. That would be his reasoning for now, at least.

Nagi shook his head stubbornly. "That's not nothing, Schuldig," he insisted. Then the boy sighed. "You need to lie very still for as long as possible. At least for a few days," Nagi said. They couldn't go to a doctor, though he knew that they both probably needed to see one, but how would either of them explain what had happened to them. Beside SZ were probably still out there looking for any survivors. The organization finding either of them would be fatal.

Schuldig sighed. "I know," he said and he meant it. The way he was feeling just now he didn't think he'd survive moving anywhere. The chance of one of his broken ribs puncturing a lung was way too high and the telepath really didn't fancy dying a painful death while coughing up blood. Resigned to being a statue for a while at least, Schuldig carefully turned his head to look at Nagi. "How's your leg," he asked the young telekinetic.

Nagi's eyes widened slightly. In all his worry for Schuldig the boy had completely forgotten that he had been injured as well. But that could only mean that he had to be feeling better, right? Rolling up his trouser leg slowly, Nagi revealed the bandaged wound. No blood could be seen on the makeshift bandage. A good sign, Nagi decided, slowly standing up fully and testing whether he could put pressure on his leg. He winced slightly as initial pain shot up his leg, but after a few moments it wasn't so bad anymore. Nagi took a few tentative steps forward and checked the bandage again. The wound hadn't started bleeding again yet so with any luck Nagi would be able to move around, though he would surely be limping. "It seems to be ok," he concluded. Schuldig nodded. "Good, but be careful," he instructed. Nagi just shot him a look that clearly stated which of them was currently incapable of moving.

Moving back over to Schuldig's side, Nagi sat down on the floor once more, sighing once again. He seemed to be doing that a lot today. Schuldig offered an encouraging smile which he hoped would be slightly comforting. He knew that he really couldn't be much more of a help to the young telekinetic just then, especially since not even his telepathy was cooperating. "I'm hungry," Nagi stated suddenly. It was true, really, although he had intended it more as a way to break the silence that had descended. And while it hadn't been an uncomfortable silence, Nagi preferred to be talking. A silent Schuldig was always a strange thing.

Schuldig made a non-committal noise. He wasn't sure he would be able to eat anything in his current state, neither was he particularly hungry. "Do you have any money," Schuldig asked, a new problem dawning. Nagi shook his head. "I didn't take any with me."

"If we're in any kind of luck my wallet will still be in the pocket of my jacket," Schuldig said, hoping that it would still be there. It was a false hope, though. Nagi immediately grabbed the discarded piece of clothing and searched all its pockets but came up empty-handed. "It's not there," Nagi exclaimed despairingly.

Schuldig sighed silently. Good morning problem number two in a sea of problems. They had no money, no credit or debit cards and nothing and no one to manipulate into giving them money. "We have no money," Nagi concluded out loud a second after Schuldig had drawn the same conclusion in his mind. Letting the jacket drop back to the ground in a heap, Nagi stared at it forlornly.

While Nagi was nearly panicking, Schuldig had quite a clear view on the situation. No money wasn't the worst that could happen to a person and while he thought that money did make life a great deal easier, the telepath had survived without it before. And he knew they would need food sooner or later, maybe even medication. They needed their strength now.

"That can't stop us," Schuldig decided, making Nagi's gaze rivet to look at him. "What do you mean," the younger boy asked. "We'll need to come by food and other things anyway," Schuldig explained. Nagi's face got more serious, if possible. "You mean we're going to steal," he stated. Schuldig just nodded. "And we need to be damn careful about it," the telepath continued. "Until we get any further news we'll have to assume that SZ is still out there looking for us. They mustn't get any news about us surviving."

Nagi huffed. He really wasn't comfortable with openly stealing. He knew that all the electronic shifting of money he had done for Brad really hadn't been anything else, but it did feel different. "I'll do it if you don't want to," Schuldig offered, sensing his friend's discomfort. The telepath was about to brave the very painful prospect of moving when Nagi stopped him. "I'll do it," the young telekinetic nearly yelled. "Remember what I just told you? You need to stay still."

"Alright, alright," Schuldig exclaimed, giving Nagi an appeasing look. The younger boy just shook his head. "I'll try to be quick," he said as he began to make his way across to the exit. "Be careful," Schuldig called out to his friend. Nagi turned for a moment and offered a small smile before finally leaving.

Outside the sun was high in the sky. Nagi thought it might be noon or close to that time anyway. Looking around the area he couldn't see a soul, but that wasn't surprising. According to a sign that had been put up the building wasn't due for demolition for at least another week. That, at least, was somewhat positive in Nagi's opinion. A week wouldn't be enough for Schuldig to heal fully, but maybe enough for them to be able to move. They would have to in any case. All they had for now was hope.

Nagi didn't make as fast a progress as he had hoped with his injured leg, but at least his injury didn't seem as bad as it had the previous night. He gathered that both he and Schuldig had been overreacting in that respect. Though there was still reason for concern about the telepath. Nagi snorted. Trust Schuldig to get himself into that much trouble. But at least the redhead was still there, the teen thought, sadness creeping up on him. He angrily wiped away the tears that threatened to leak from his eyes and shook his head. This was definitely not the time for a breakdown.

It didn't take long, though, for Nagi to be immediately distracted by the sight before him. A little luck seemed to be on his side, at least. He had come quite a way and had recently entered a housing area and was now standing in the middle of a street market. Nagi took a deep breath. He had never attempted anything like this before, but he thought that this must be perfect.

Ducking into a side street, Nagi made sure that his telekinetic powers were working by making a discarded crate float a few inches in the air. No problem, as it seemed. Turning back to face the market, Nagi knew that he only had one chance to do this.

With a bread stand in view, Nagi was happy to see that the stand also sold some drinks. Focusing his mind on both a loaf of bread and a bottle of water, Nagi concentrated on both things as well as on staying as hidden as possible in the alley, knowing that he would be in huge trouble if he was spotted. Thankfully summoning things telekinetically could be done with a great deal of speed and while the floating objects caused an outcry and general confusion among the sellers and visitors of the market, Nagi had enough time to grab the objects and run. Running wasn't that easy anymore as his leg was starting to hurt again, but Nagi knew that he would have to make it further away from the living area before he could rest.

Meanwhile back at their hiding place Schuldig was on edge. Not only could he not move, but he was still very worried about the fact that he couldn't seem to focus on one separate set of thoughts anymore. Sighing in frustration, Schuldig decided he would try again by making a mental sweep of the surrounding area since that might be a good idea in any case to warn them of any danger that might be lurking nearby.

Concentrating his mind on the task, the telepath began to slowly touch on the minds closest to where he was. Slowly soon turned into a roller coaster ride, though, as thoughts and emotions began to race at him, crowding in and threatening to smother him. Schuldig broke free with a cry of pain. Swearing he held a hand to his forehead trying to soothe the throbbing pain that was beginning there. In his desperation Schuldig tried again only to come up with the same painful result and a third time which left him drained and with a migraine that threatened to make him throw up.

"What's happening to me," Schuldig wondered out loud, his voice raw and desperate as tears of pain and frustration gathered in the corners of his eyes. In the distance a door was pushed and closed again, a limping figure shown against the backdrop of grey walls. "Shu, I'm back."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Finally, chapter 3 is here. It feels so good to be writing again.  Well, in a non-academic way. Life just always finds a way to take over. And thanks so much to all who reviewed the last chapters.

**Review Responses:**

**Princess Sin: **Well, here's your next chapter. Uh… I don't know yet what's happening with Shu. You'll have to continue reading. Weiss will come in soon, don't worry so you'll see what happens then. For now, enjoy chapter 3.

**Pinball62: **Here's the update, finally. Where you can see how things work out for nor. But I do like to keep my readers hanging in suspense.

**eMu3: **Well, I can tell you now that I'm probably going to stray massively from the drama CDs and from Glühen, simply because I don't know those. I can't get a hold of the drama CDs or their translations and Glühen is also quite hard to come by, though I've seen parts of it. But Really, I write based on the first part of the anime. Anyway, Schwarz have got to be a family-ish unit, just cause that makes them so much more yay. Lol. Here's the next chapter, anyway.

**Randa: **Glad you like it and thanks for your review. Here's the next instalment.

--

Shuldig quickly covered his eyes, both to hide the tears that had gathered in their corners and to maybe soothe his headache for a moment. Then, wiping the tears away the telepath turned his head slowly to look at Nagi who had just collapsed to the floor beside Schuldig, exhausted. "I got some bread and water," Nagi exclaimed slightly triumphantly. He still didn't like stealing, but he felt quite good about having done something to help their situation.

"Well done," Schuldig answered and smiled at the teen as warmly as he could. Which did mean something coming from Schuldig, because the telepath didn't do warm. Not often, not around many people, possibly only around Nagi. The young telekinetic smiled back, but the smile soon faded as he looked at his friend. "Shu? You look very pale," Nagi observed with concern etched in his expression. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Schuldig replied quietly. "It's just a bit of a headache," he lied. It was a splitting, nauseating headache and definitely shouldn't be there, but Schuldig decided to put on a brave face. It was what he did. Schuldig didn't do weak either. "Well, you should have some water," Nagi suggested, holding out the bottle to the redhead. Schuldig thought that sounded like a good idea. He did feel quite parched. Nearly drowning in seawater would do that to a person.

Reaching out, Schuldig tried to take the bottle from Nagi, but he found that the movement was jarring his ribs too painfully. And oh, it angered the telepath that he could not even perform such a simple task, but he bit down on his anger as Nagi moved to help him. There was little else Schuldig could do, but to give in to the assistance as Nagi slid his hands under the telepath's head and rested it on his knees so that Schuldig wouldn't choke on the liquid while consuming it. He then lifted the bottle to Schuldig's mouth so that the redhead could drink. And he did so, taking a few long swallows. Once Schuldig had done so, Nagi drank some water as well and then helped Schuldig to lower his head back onto the makeshift pillow.

Schuldig turned his head and looked away, his pride stinging. He hated being this helpless, he hated it so much. And Nagi was having to be so strong. It just wasn't right, in Schu's opinion. But Nagi had his own opinion on this. He didn't need to be a telepath to figure out what his friend was thinking. Nagi knew the man. "Shu," the teen said tentatively and rested a hand on the redhead's shoulder comfortingly. No words needed, Schuldig reached up with his own hand and laid it on Nagi's. No words needed, he knew that the young telekinetic was saying that it was ok and that he knew how Shu felt about the situation.

--

Several things changed as the week progressed, some for better and some for worse. For one, both Nagi's and Shu's wounds were healing quite well, which was a good thing. Nagi could now move around with only the smallest amount of pain and even Schuldig was now capable of sitting and standing up, albeit carefully and still in pain. He did not do so often, though, as another more worrying change had come over Schuldig. It was becoming increasingly hard for the telepath to keep his mind's barriers up which he needed to ward off the myriad of thoughts pressing in from outside. Only when sleeping he was safe from them. But sleep was, for Schuldig, the most comfortable position to be in at the present time. With the degeneration of his telepathy came the constant pain of a migraine that would render a more inexperienced telepath insane. But Schuldig had lived through it before and he would live through it again, SZ had taught him as much.

Nagi was becoming more and more concerned for his friend, though. Schuldig slept most of the time, fitfully. He was constantly pale and barely ate anything, only drinking water from time to time. It was breaking Nagi's heart to see Shu like this and it made it worse every time Schuldig insisted that he was fine and going to be fine. Nagi no longer believed him. But he'd long since found out that Schuldig wasn't going to tell him if something was wrong. The concern, Nagi though, was quite sweet, especially coming from the telepath, but also out of place, given their current circumstances and really not helpful.

As the week drew to a close both members of Schwarz knew that they had to make a move. They needed to be out of this building the next morning as that was the date on which it was due to be demolished. "What now," Nagi asked as they were packing up their few belongings. Schuld had actually woken up after many insistent prods he received from Nagi. The telepath's head was threatening to split with migraine, but he strove to not let that get in the way, no matter how dizzy it made him feel at times.

Schuldig shrugged. He had finally given up on acting as if he had any exact plans that would keep them safe and alive. "I say we go back to our place. Carefully," Schuldig added, "and see if we can salvage anything. Papers would be quite useful," he decided. "Passports, anything."

Nagi nodded, but was a bit sceptical. "What if SZ find us there?" Schuldig just shot him a look and the message was clearly written in his eyes. If SZ were to find the two of them at any time they were screwed. They'd probably be tortured for information they did not have and killed. Nagi nodded and sighed. They had to be quick about it then. And damn careful. Looking around at the warehouse that had been something like home for the past week, Nagi turned to Schuldig. "Let's go then?"

The outside world seemed strange to Nagi. Strangely bright and surreal. Although he knew that currently they were a part of it, the teen felt detached and unsafe, as if they could die any minute, which honestly wasn't that unlikely. The young telekinetic also couldn't help but direct concerned glances at Schuldig every few minutes. Despite the redhead doing everything he could to seem fine, Nagi wasn't fooled. It was obvious that Schuldig was in pain, both from his ribs which weren't quite healed up yet and from an, to Nagi, unknown source. Though the teen had the suspicion that his friend was suffering from a headache and it had to be a massive one from the way Shu was shielding his eyes from any sort of light.

They had walked for a while and then quickly jumped on a crowded bus. They knew that no one would try to check tickets with this many people cramped into the vehicle, but to Schuldig it was utter Hell. These people's thoughts, so many of them and so trivial, threatened to drive him insane and he wanted to scream, loudly. To let it all out, yet he knew that would be a really bad move. But now Nagi knew what was going on with Schuldig. It was obvious by the way the telepath was sitting on the floor of the bus, nearly curled up into a ball, eyes clenched tightly and hands futilely covering his ears. Nagi felt like crying, he felt like crying so much whenever he saw someone close to him in pain. The teen was now kneeling down next to the redhead, trying to physically shield him from the other people on the bus who once in a while glanced their way, frowning. Nagi looked from the pained telepath to the flashing board indicating the stops. "We'll be there soon," Nagi whispered, urgently trying to keep Shu conscious as he pushed red hair from the telepath's eyes. Shuldig was shivering and drenched in cold sweat.

Nagi sighed in relief as the bus finally stopped and he dragged Schuldig up from the floor and led him out of the bus. The telepath collapsed on the floor at the bus stop, still shaking, but more coherent now that there were less minds at such close proximity. "Shu," Nagi asked as he sat down beside the telepath who seemed to be calming down a bit now. "I'm fine, Nagi," Shuldig said automatically, his voice strained. He didn't bother to sound credible, the redhead couldn't muster the energy.

Nagi had finally had enough. "Stop saying that," he exclaimd angrily, throwing his hands up. "You're obviously not ok." But the teen's outburst ended as fast as it had erupted when he saw Schuldig wince from the pain Nagi's raised voice had caused. Schuldig was sorry, he was sorry for causing Nagi so much worry, but he could not say it. Apologies were another thing to add to the list of what the telepath didn't do. And Nagi was sorry too. He hadn't meant to sound this angry. Nagi sighed. "It's your telepathy, isn't." It wasn't a question, it was a statement, but Shuldig nodded anyway. "What's happening," Nagi asked. If there was anything at all he could do, he would. Schuldig sighed, sounding more resigned than he wanted to let on. "I don't know. I can't control it. It's just not… working," the telepath exclaimed, frustration evident in his voice. It was like it had been then, when he'd been younger and had just discovered his power. And Schuldig was starting to be threatened by the same helplessness he had experienced then, before SZ had found him and trained him.

They remained in silence for a while, Shuldig recovering his senses and Nagi watching him, concerned. The teen knew that there wasn't anything he could really do. He did not know about telepathy and he so wished that Brad were here. Brad had always known how to help Schuldig, also sharing a power of the mind. And while Nagi too needed his mind for telekinesis he could not form a connection with other minds the way Schuldig and Brad had been able to. A while later Schuldig lifted his head from where it had been resting in his hands. "We have to move on," he said. Nagi nodded, and helped Schuldig to stand up which the telepath wasn't happy about, but he didn't comment on it either.

About thirty minutes later Nagi and Schuldig arrived at the apartment block they lived in, or had lived in. It was certain that they could no longer stay at their flat, seeing as it was one of the first places anyone, especially SZ, would come looking for them. "Too late," Schuldig murmured as they approached the door which was hanging precariously off one hinge. It had obviously been broken down during their absence. Nagi gasped a little as he stepped inside what had been their home. It was a complete mess. Drawers ripped from cupboards, their contents strewn about the floor, furniture broken, doors broken down. It could not have been more obvious that someone had searched the place.

Schuldig was slightly less shocked when he entered the apartment. In fact, no emotion at all showed on his face. He'd seen this done before, he'd seen worse, he knew what had happened. "We need to leave," he announced. Schuldig wasn't certain, but he could well imagine that SZ were having the apartment watched. "Go to your room and try to find any papers and documents that might come in useful," the redhead commanded as he left to do the same.

Nagi nodded and rushed to his room, only to find it in much the same state as the rest of the place. Utter chaos. His heart sank as he saw the drawers ripped from his desk. Nagi knelt besides the heaps of paper and other random things only to find that nothing was there. No fake IDs, no passport, nothing. He sighed. He should have known that it would be futile. Hopefully Shu would have more luck.

No such luck, of course. Nagi found Shu sifting listlessly through things scattered on the living room floor. None of it would be of use, but it had been something to do. "Not there, are they," Nagi asked carefully. Schuldig got up from the floor and shook his head in resignation. "No," he confirmed, his gaze shifting towards the window. It was nearing late afternoon. "We really have to go," the telepath insisted and walked towards the front door. Nagi followed him, but stopped just inside the door, turning around to cast a last glance at what had been his home for as long as he wanted to remember. Schuldig placed a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder. He knew, he understood what Nagi was feeling, but they were in danger for every second they remained in this place. Nagi turned with a sigh and they left their home, left the building and once again found themselves on the road.

They walked for a while, aimlessly, it seemed, but Nagi had the feeling that Schuldig knew where they were headed. "What do we do now," Nagi asked at length. He felt slightly bad for expecting the redhead to know, but anything would be better than the silence that had descended between them. It seemed, at first, that Schuldig hadn't heard him, but he did reply in the end. "We find a new place to take shelter," he answered. "And I will go about providing for our living." Schuldig knew that he hadn't a chance in Hell to get a decent job, not without any legal documents, forged or not and certainly not without his telepathy. He had a plan, though. Schuldig had found himself in similar situations countless times before, he knew how to live through them. One thing was for sure, though, he would keep Nagi safe from now on. There was no need to put the boy through more stress by making him do things he did not wish to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning: **This chapter contains definite talk of drugs and next chapters will contain drugs. So, read at own risk.

**Chapter 4**

Costa's 'office' was a joke, Schuldig thought as he descended the concrete stairs to the cellar of one of Tokyo's seediest night clubs. The steps led down a short concrete tunnel and the walls were lined with rusty pipes, water dripping off them in various places. There was a chill to the air until the telepath finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs, stopping infront of the door that was located there. Seriously, considering that the Italian controlled quite a large part of Tokyo's drug business, Schuldig would have thought he'd be doing better by now. But apparently nothing had changed from when the telepath had worked for Costa years before. Well, that could only work to his advantage.

After a brief moment of consideration, Schuldig opened the heavily scratched wooden door and stepped inside. The door creaked behind him and then slammed shut. Schuldig had barely a chance to take two steps down the corridor that lay beyond before two guards dressed in black suits and wearing dark shades came running towards him. They slowed down as they neared the telepath, obviously recognising him. That was very good, Schuldig decided. At least this meant they weren't as likely to give him trouble. The redhead had come unarmed. After all, it was commonly viewed as suicidal to enter Antonio Costa's territory armed. Schuldig thought that it really didn't matter whether he carried a gun or not. Costa was a cruel, sleazy bastard and nothing would stop him from killing those who got on his bad side. Schuldig prided himself on having managed not to piss the Italian off yet. Then again, he had not seen him in a few years.

"I need to talk to your boss," Schuldig told the guards in English. Thankfully they usually understood enough to know what he was asking for.

"The boss is in a meeting," one of the guards answered, his speech heavily accented. Schuldig smirked. Meeting, yeah right. Costa's meetings usually consisted of one of two things. He was either involved in a session of illegal gambling, or about to shatter someone's kneecaps ifor information. Either way, the German knew that he would have to wait. Costa hated to be interrupted when he was doing business.

"I'll wait," Schuldig decided.

The two guards shared a glance briefly and then, as if coming to a silent accord, placed themselves on either side of Schuldig and began to escort him to a room down the hall. They roughly shoved the telepath inside and locked the door behind him. Schuldig rolled his eyes. He was surprised they didn't handcuff him to the chair that stood infront of the worn wooden desk located in the centre of the small room. Behind the desk was another chair, a large leather armchair and various papers and pens littered the desk's surface. A gun lay disassembled.

Schuldig went to examine the weapon. As he had expected, it was broken, some vital parts missing. The redhead had figured as much. There was no way that Costa would leave a working gun lying around his office. Abandoning the disassembled gun, Schuldig let his gaze sweep the room. No window, of course. They were under ground. And no escape aside from the locked door. Typical. Costa was a careful man and Schuldig was sure that the walls were soundproof. No screams would reach outside of this room.

With a huff, Schuldig dropped into the chair on the visitors' side of the desk. He was exhausted and his head was killing him. His ribs still put him through some amount of pain and there was no change to be detected in the case of his missing telepathy either. Schuldig could either try to read people's thoughts and have millions of others' swarming his head to a point that made him pass out from the pain, or he could try his best to keep his mental shields intact. That, however, was becoming increasingly difficult as well. The telepath could definitely feel panic rising inside his mind in regards to this problem. Yet other things had to be taken care of first.

Having left Nagi at a temporary hiding place, Schuldig had decided to act on the half-formed plan that had begun to crowd into his mind. If all went well, he would have a job, well, a source of money, at least, soon and possibly a place for him and Nagi to stay at. Schuldig just hoped that Costa would be in a favourable mood. Doing this without his telepathy would be a bitch, Schuldig thought, but there was nothing he could change about that fact.

Looking about the place once more, the redhead realised that really nothing had changed. The place was still ugly as all hell and the portrait of some old, white-haired man that hung on the wall looked no better. Two cabinets on each side of the room made an idea creep into Schuldig's head. If everything was really still the way it had been when he'd been in here years ago, one of the cabinets' shelves would be stuffed with bottles of hard liquor.

Schuldig rose from the chair and headed for the cabinet closest to him. He pulled the intricate knob, but the doors would not move and inch. It had to be locked, Schuldig mused as his eyes fell on the ornate black lock. The telepath smirked. This would be easy, he realised and started to rummage in the pocket of his coat. Lock-picking wires were only one of the essentials he'd picked up during the stop at Schwarz's old flat.

Pulling out one of the wires, Schuldig bent the tip to resemble a hook and carefully inserted it into the lock. It took only a few well-rehearsed wriggles to elicit a satisfying click from inside. Schuldig grinned as he pulled the cabinet's door open and was met with a truly marvellous sight. The top shelf was packed with all sorts of liquor from all over the world. There was so much of it that Schuldig was sure that it would take Costa a long while to realise that any of it was missing. With that it mind, the redhead quickly grabbed two flask-sized bottles of clear vodka and stashed them away in the inner pockets of his coat. Painkillers were the only thing that could have made his small raid even better, but Schuldig wasn't about to push his luck. He carefully pushed the doors shut once more and heard the lock click neatly back into place.

"Mission erfolgreich," Schuldig murmured in German and went back to sitting in the chair, a bored expression immediately appearing on his face. He hated having to wait. Schuldig sighed.

--------

It took another half hour for Costa to finally appear. Schuldig stood up fast the moment he heard the door unlock at his back. Turning to face the entrance the telepath was met with the sight of Antonio Costa in person who was sporting a slightly insane grin and Schuldig was quite sure that the Italian had been smoking something more than just Sicilian cigars.

Costa stood about at least a foot and a half shorter than the German. He was a stout man, dressed in black slacks and a white shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned. An anachronistic black frock coat completed the man's outfit. _'Penguin,' _Schuldig's mind supplied unhelpfully and he had to clamp down on a snigger. But seriously, Costa hadn't changed much either. A little fatter, maybe, a little older, but time seemed to have frozen in this place. Or maybe three years in the life of an assassin were just far more fast-paced than three years in the life of a well-situated drug dealer.

"Ah, Schuldig, my friend," Costa exclaimed, he beady dark eyes, which seemed far too small for the man's round face, twinkling. "You look like hell."

Schuldig was hard put to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Well, such was Antonio Costa. Blunt and to the point and really, Schuldig couldn't blame him. He knew he looked far worse for wear and felt it too.

Costa laughed at the scowl that had settled on the telepath's face and ambled towards the large armchair on the far side of the desk. The contraption nearly seemed to swallow the short man.

"Come, sit, sit," Costa invited Schuldig and the telepath followed suit and sat once more in the previously abandoned chair.

"What can I do for you," the Italian then asked. Schuldig suddenly felt a lot more alert. This was the question he had been waiting for. He was aware that whatever he asked for, Costa would make him pay back threefold, but quite honestly, in his and Nagi's current situation, Schuldig was desperate. But at least the Italian seemed to be in a good mood.

"Well, just wondering if you had some jobs that need doing," Schuldig replied, almost casually. "And a place to stay, maybe?" He tried hard not to let any kind of emotion leak into his voice and thought that he was doing a good job of it.

Costa nodded quietly and slightly narrowed his eyes. "I see, I see," the man mused out loud. Even these few simple words were laced with a heavy Italian accent.

"And what is it, that you can do for me," he asked, but didn't bother waiting for an answer. "Are you still as sneaky as you used to be, boy?"

Once again, Schuldig was tempted to scowl. Costa never failed to treat him as if he were some stray, delinquent kid that he'd picked up on the streets. Schuldig had never bothered to let the Italian know that he was a highly trained assassin. It was an advantage he wasn't willing to give up.

"I am," Schuldig replied with a confident smirk. It was a lie, he knew, accompanied by a confidence he did not feel. Schuldig knew that without his telepathy he'd be missing a lot of his usual stealth. But as long as Costa didn't know that there would be no problem.

Costa smiled then. It was an ugly smile. "And still ready to do anything, I assume."

Schuldig nodded. He was loath to think that he had once again reached a state as desperate as the one he had been in when he'd first worked for the Italian.. He had been wandering the streets of Tokyo then, having escaped the clutches of Rosenkreuz academy for a few weeks only before he had been dragged back there. During that time, though, working for Antonio Costa, Schuldig had believed that he had possibly reached the lowest point, only to be rivalled by the living hell his life had been before SZ had found him and trained him to control his telepathy. But it was different now. Schuldig was now an adult and experienced in the cruel ways of the world of criminality. It also no longer just concerned him. He had to think of protecting Nagi and yes, to protect the teen Schuldig was prepared to do whatever Costa wanted him for. After all, without any papers and further connections, jobs like these would be the only ones the German could get.

"Very well, then," Costa said slowly, seemingly coming to an internal decision. "I need you to deal." Blunt and to the point again. "It's a difficult area. It's densely inhabited and any suspicious activities tend to get reported to the police before you know what is happening." Costa smirked and Schuldig didn't like it at all.

"I am sure, however," the Italian continued, "that you will be just fine manning this area. You are, as I remember, good at such things."

'_Used to be,' _Schuldig thought dejectedly. _'Used to be good at this.' _ Now, with his telepathy gone, this would be a hell of a lot more difficult. But there seemed to be no turning back now. Schuldig would just have to try and try to survive without being arrested.

It was, however, when Costa reached into the drawer and pulled out a small key, that Schuldig was sure that he'd be in much danger. Costa tore a strip off a sheet of paper and scribbled something on it with a black ink pen. He then handed the key and scrap of paper to Schuldig.

"You can use this apartment while you work for me," the Italian told the telepath.

"Thank you," Schuldig said simply as he accepted the key and address. He did not dare say more. This was all going way too well, but the telepath guessed that he would just have to be thankful for small mercies. He would think of consequences once they arose. Such was his nature, if he spared any thoughts on consequences at all. Besides, Schuldig knew that this was also a way for Costa to make sure that he knew where to find the redhead. Really, Schuldig knew he shouldn't be surprised.

"Come here shortly before dusk each night to get the goods," Costa instructed as he led Schuldig to the door. "I will instruct you on your area tomorrow night."

They said their goodbyes and Schuldig was once again escorted to the door leading outside by the two guards he had seen earlier. He was definitely glad to be leaving. Costa's underground office felt too confining.

Once outside, Schuldig expelled a breath he had not realised he'd been holding. Well, that had been satisfactory, he decided. He had secured a place for Nagi and himself to live and had a job. Illegal as it all might be, it was their only choice at the moment and really, Schuldig couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a legal job. In fact, he'd possibly never had one. Kicking his legs into gear, Schuldig slowly made his way towards where he'd left Nagi For now, the telepath decided, he'd just be glad about having somewhere to stay for the night.

**German translation:**

Mission erfolgreich = mission accomplished

**A/N: **I know, I know. You're all screaming for the Shu/Yohji action. Soon my dears, very soon. The first glimpse of Weiss will be in the next chapter, I promise. For now, please review.


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